Chopin and red wine
by florencenightingale
Summary: This is set after 'Boxed in', you know, when Ziva invites Tony at her place.


Set after "Boxed in"

Tony was looking around: Ziva's apartment wasn't exactly what he had expected; as he was sitting on the couch, sipping a glass of red wine, his eyes lingered on the cream-colored walls, the rich dark brown parquet and the huge piano, standing at a corner of the room, right under two windows.

He stood up, skipped the soft hassocks spread all around ("They make me feel comfortable." She had said before vanishing inside the kitchen) and tidied his hair in front of a cupboard: he stopped for a while to watch the photographs arranged in an orderly fashion behind the glass: in one, a teenage-Ziva was hugging a little girl, 'Tali' he thought, and was smiling widely; another showed a group of men and women wearing combat suits, Ziva was in the middle. She couldn't have been more than twenty at the time, her hair was jumbled by the wind and her expression was tough and proud: he guessed that it was her team when she was Mossad …

He sat again in front of the massive, black, maybe German-made pianoforte and looked at the papers on it; he found a piece he had studied when he was a child … it had taken him five months to learn it; his fingers hurt at the memory. He practiced scales and chords for a while and then he decided to try.  
>"It's still just the two of us … let's see who's gonna get the better." He started playing and the melancholic notes filled the air.<p>

In the kitchen Ziva was about to boil the pasta … she stopped when she recognized the piece being played, turned off the sauce and stepped out, leaning against the doorpost with her arms folded, staring at the man's back. Since the first time she had seen him she had been struck by his broad shoulders … though he wasn't that muscular his shoulder made her feel kind of safe, something that she wasn't so used to be.

He kept playing, not aware of her; he knew he was making mistakes but, all things considered, he was satisfied and he was feeling something really similar to euphoria. Without that old witch beating him with a ruler he realized how much he liked to play the piano and how much he had missed it … he seriously considered to buy one and start again. 'But maybe, my Mossad Chick would allow me to use hers … if I survive tonight.' He quietly ended the piece and took his feet off the pedals.

"Chopin's Nocturne in E flat major … it's one of my favorite." Ziva hid her admiration as she stepped closer to him. "You are pretty good." She smiled, sitting next to him on the bench and getting some scores.  
>He was slightly embarrassed. "I told you … DiNozzos are the best in everything."<br>"You know what I like the most of you?" She asked, smiling skeptically.  
>"My inborn charm?" He joked, being curious to know what the answer was.<br>"Your modesty." She answered, quoting him and eventually finding the piece she was looking for.

"Hey! Haven't we already had this conversation be-" He was interrupted by her, starting playing a soft, hypnotic melody he had never heard before … even though the piece was intricate her eyes were closed, her face showed rapture and happiness. He couldn't help but stare at her in disbelief: she was so talented, so different from her usual self, so much beautiful … 'What the hell are you thinking DiNozzo? Head-slap yourself! You've known her for six months and still you don't even imagine who she really is, what she has done … why are you so attracted to her?'

Suddenly she remembered she was cooking and she abruptly stopped. "Sorry." She said, standing up. "I was … daydreaming, is that the word?" He nodded. "Well, maybe is better if I go back to the kitchen … or we are not eating at all." She laughed and went away, guessing why Tony's arm was around her waist while she was playing and wondering about why that didn't make her want to kill him with a piano sheet.

'I bet she hasn't even noticed it … oh, c'mon Tony: she has super-ninja skills! So why hasn't she done anything? She should have threatened you not to do that again, at least. Ok, now stop thinking about her! But how can you do this here, in her own house, with her scent soaking the air?' Tony stood up and opened the window: the night breeze mussed his strangely un-gelled hair and made him shiver. He was staring into space, thinking. He didn't realize it had started raining.

"Tony could you please close the window? Dinner is ready." Ziva's voice reached him and he roused himself, finding out the green pullover he was wearing was rain-soaked. He closed quickly and took out the garment, then still in his shirt he went to the kitchen.  
>"Hum, Zee-Vah? Where can I put this? It's wet." She turned to face him and forced herself to keep looking at his face and not at other, now really visible through the damp, white shirt, parts of him; grabbing it from his hands she stopped really close to him. "My Little Hairy Butt … what have you done in the other room all alone?" She shook her head, laughing mischievously. "You cannot stay so next to me without feeling naughty, yes?" She said, walking away to hang his pullover to dry.<p>

She didn't hear him following her in the small bathroom and when she turned, she found herself almost pressed against his chest. Their eyes met and what appeared to be a long lapse of time passed by: none of them seemed able to look away and the found themselves getting even closer … then the timer rang.

'Shit!' thought Tony as Ziva quickly overstepped him and hurried to the kitchen; she strained the pasta and added some sauce, mentally thanking the spaghetti cooking time. "Enjoy." She said sitting in front of him, staring at her dish.  
>"Sweet Cheeks! It's delicious." He cried, a forkful in his mouth. "Abby was right: you're a fabulous cook!"<br>She smiled, flattered by his comment and then laughed when he got a sauce stain.

"Am I that funny, Ziva?" He snapped trying to clean his shirt, with the only effect of making the stain bigger.  
>"No, it is just … the way you eat. You always lion your food."<br>"I think you mean 'wolf'. I wolf my food … and it's not true!" He added without giving her time to 'I-told-you' him.  
>"Please, Tony! Everytime I look at you …"<br>He interrupted her, smiling mischievously. "So you look at me, Officer David?"  
>She bit her tongue. "You are a very interesting person, Agent DiNozzo." She whispered, reaching out toward him and then pulling back before he actually had the chance to do anything: she could see frustration in his eyes, but amusement too.<p>

'This chick is really driving me crazy.' He thought, suddenly happy. "Hey, Sweet Cheeks … you want to watch a movie after dinner?" He asked, knowing he probably did sound rude.  
>Ziva frowned quickly hearing again that stupid nickname he had given her during her undercover assignment. She forced herself to keep a straight face at the thought as she answered, teasing him as usual. "Are you inviting yourself to stay?" She nonchalantly inquired, wondering why she didn't seem to be able to answer directly: her mind was sort of screaming YEAH PLEASE ANYTIME YOU WANT!<p>

"Zee-Vah?" He waved his hand in front of her face and she looked puzzled at him. "I suggest a James Bond."  
>"I'm sorry Tony, I have not got any movies … I barely watch TV."<br>"I had a gut feeling about this … so I was thinking: it's 2200. Why don't we just go to my place and watch one there?"

Her first impulse was to deny but then she thought it could eventually turn out to be fun so she smiled.  
>"Ok." She said sipping her last drought of wine and starting clearing away the dishes.<p>

As she was locking her apartment she saw him grinning widely at her.  
>"Why are you smiling?" She asked, a bit disappointed.<br>"Just thinking about you, at my place at night …" Though his voice sounded playful as ever, she noticed is eyes were sparkling, as if he was really happy … or really lustful, which was more probable considering who she was talking to.  
>"Forget it." She said more to herself than to him, and she walked down the stairs, wiggling her hips softly.<br>He wiped out the picture forming in his mind and reached her.

'For now.' They both thought, smiling.


End file.
